St Andrew's Prep A GSG School

Sports

Unusual sports

Shooting

What The Good Schools Guide says

Head

Since 2021, Tom Gregory, a former pupil and previously deputy head at Ashfold School. Other senior roles include deputy head at Vinehall. Started his career in the City working in investment banking; 10 years later, he followed his heart and moved into teaching. He is joined by his wife Esther, who has a 24-year teaching career in both senior and prep schools, and their two children.

Entrance

Non-selective, to any year group and in any term (where there is space); as many taster days as required.

Exit

More than three-quarters to Eastbourne College in 2023. Others to Prior Park College, Roedean, Shrewsbury School, St Edmund’s Canterbury, Cranbrook, Bede’s, Durham School, Stowe, Battle Abbey and Bedford College. Twenty-three scholarships in 2023.

Our view

There is a cheerful noise as pupils move around and the children seem very confident, but the school ensures that there are quiet places for those who need them, and parents assure us that shy introverts also thrive at St Andrew’s: ‘Our youngest was not gregarious; what St Andrew’s do very well is give kids a voice. They will have a conversation in a room of people which they wouldn’t have done before… they have the confidence to get things wrong now.’ Another described her children’s confidence as ‘sky high’ since moving here.

A new wellbeing hub called the Snug opened in 2021 – a quiet area in the heart of the school where children can talk privately or in groups with one of the school’s 15 staff listeners. One said her children just pop in to get things off their chests, another that her daughter has regular weekly sessions which have helped her cope with all the worries of changing school.

St Andrew’s responds sensitively to circumstance. Following a spate of parent deaths a few years ago, the school planted a memory garden, with commemorative benches – a place for pupils to sit quietly and listen to the running water and wind chimes. Teachers were trained to support the children, and on learning that death and grief are best talked about openly, death and bereavement have become part of the PHSE curriculum.

The disciplinary system is ‘absolutely right… [we] don’t hear about it much,’ said a parent. A sensible and humane flexibility – difficulties will be resolved by talking if possible, with teachers praising in public, discussing difficulties in private. There are some absolute rules – phones must be handed in to the office in the morning (‘if you get caught [with your phone] it’s not good,’ said a pupil). Unresolvable bullying would result in exclusion – none in recent years. There’s a sensitive and active approach to handling differences amongst children – when there were communication problems amongst the girls in one year, the school arranged for the NSPCC to come in and run a course to help pupils understand how their actions impact on others.

A mish-mash of buildings reflect the school’s history – once a farm, now a school. Pupils play table tennis in an old wooden panelled hall with parquet floors softened by centuries of feet, learn music in a 1970s block, and play sport in a superb state-of-the-art sports hall.

A house system, with annual competition, and points awarded for merit and industry. The winning house each term gets a cinema trip, although pupils don’t think house feeling runs particularly high at this school.

Sports here used to be just about being the best and although success of top teams is still significant, now it’s also about enjoying it, taking part and recognition of each child. There are lots of teams, with members being regularly rotated. Sports day is a house competition and pupils are healthier and happier.

Sport offerings include badminton, fives and shooting, as well as all the regular ones, and there’s increasingly equal provision – girls play cricket, football and tag rugby, and the boys hockey. The school has notable successes in girls’ hockey and table tennis, and boys’ rugby and cricket and a structured development programme helps the more able to excel. Eastbourne College, with which the school shares a governing body, helps with training and shares facilities.

Forest school up to year 2 – small people in top-to-toe green wet weather gear had just finished a Christmas hunt though the woods and were settling down to toast marshmallows. The weekly session includes studying bugs and trees and pursuing the pond life. Teachers say pupils who are very shy ‘come alive’ in the forest.

Beach school for juniors, whatever the weather, who use what they find to create a mythical creature and tell its story. ‘Children who struggle to write in the classroom can find it easy to tell a story with their tongue,’ said a teacher. ‘Sometimes when it’s rough we just sit and look…’ Pupils say the best thing about St Andrew’s is the opportunities, ‘a fantastic thing’, and love the range of extracurricular activities, from sailing to Piglet’s pantry (cooking) and chess.

‘Even on a quiet morning, there is music all over the department,’ said the head of music, who maintains links with the West End. There are large-scale productions every year, and the children remember High School Musical with great enthusiasm. School orchestra, rock bands and choirs perform regularly in public, in their own high-beamed hall, in local churches and in EC’s ample facilities; this year the choir will perform in Venice and Lake Garda. A parent described the music as ‘brilliant… blown away by quality of productions and quality of the choir’.

Children produce some beautiful artwork, and enjoy trips out to paint the sea and downs. The school hopes to see even more trips out as they invest more in this department.

Pupils say, ‘Teachers are good, they know what they’re talking about,’ and parents feel St Andrew’s provides for all – ‘The middle are not ignored.’ A bit of tutoring does go on in maths, as it does in most preps, and the school is keen to recruit more staff with innovative and fresh ideas. Parents emphasise that ‘the academic child is well catered for’, with extension tasks and a scholarship set – although all parents were clear that this is not a pushy school and they do not want it to be so.

A parent commented on the difference in teaching style compared to her children’s last school – ‘Everything comes alive!’ In history, children studying Henry VIII play the ‘take me out’ game (whether that concerns dating or lopping off heads was not clear); in a lively year 3 maths class, enthusiastic mathematicians stretched elastic bands around toy cars and measured their distance of travel across the classroom floor. Years 5 and 6 learn thinking skills with the help of the debater-in-residence. Mind matters also runs for years 5 to 8, teaching pupils how to form opinions and listen to their peers. ‘The children talk all the way home,’ said a mum. A parent who moved his children from a high-pressure school said, ‘Performance wise, my kids are now living up to their potential.’ Industry awards place great emphasis on effort, which is ‘really important and hugely encouraging’, he added.

The day ends at 5.30pm, with all homework done at school, to the great relief of parents (apart from weekend tasks for years 7 and 8, to get them used to doing work at home). If you’re working parents, St Andrew’s is great, said a parent. You can drop off from 7.30am and pick up at 6.45pm after clubs; early morning sports are possible too.

The year 7 cohort of 2019 were the first not to take CE. St Andrew’s has worked with Eastbourne College, the senior school destination for 75 per cent of its pupils, to replace it with a bridge curriculum for years 7, 8 and 9. This means reduced anxiety for year 8s and, according to the school, a more exciting, dynamic and effective preparation for the demands of GCSEs and beyond. The brightest pupils will still tackle the common academic scholarship.

The popular nursery takes babies from 9 months, and has nearly 80 children on its role. Learning is entirely child led, and children can happily make a mess. An art sensory room for little ones and big – anyone who could benefit from it, said the head of nursery cheerfully, including parents. Little ones leave nursery able to swim and ride a bike, and ready for the pre-prep.

Early years up to year 2 have their own building, complete with hall, ICT suite and a lovely large library. Magical classrooms, with every bit of the ceiling hung with Christmas. Letters to Father Christmas were not just wish lists, but carefully asked after him, and the wellbeing of the elves.

The SEND unit is staffed by two full-timers and one part-timer, with one-to-one charged as extra. ‘Fantastic support,’ said a parent, whose son was very unsure of his ability when he arrived at St Andrew’s – now ‘he’s really flying’. Other support, such as the LEXIA programme for those who are mildly dyslexic, is popular with parents, one saying it has transformed her son’s learning. A pre-learning programme helps children who struggle by introducing them to difficult words and concepts before lessons, to help them keep up.

Most day pupils join boarders for optional activities on Saturday. The ‘early morning march’ has a utilitarian ring to it, but plenty of kids take part in this yomp across the downs. A busy programme of trips for Sundays, from museums to skiing and go-karting.

Most parents at St Andrew’s are local, and this is a strong supportive community; very different, parents say, to London-type schools, where the parents are vying for position. Lots of parents are involved in the school and the parent body, Friends of St Andrew’s, raises funds, runs socials and helps new parents settle in.

Boarders

The boarding house, Colstocks, is mid-renovation – the ‘done’ bits are lovely. Full and flexi boarders (ad hoc nights accommodated where possible) from 14 nations, with numbers rising in the summertime with international short stays. Pupils say it’s a very friendly community, one describing it as ‘a break from my parents…’

Rooms for two to six, with full-timers getting beds and flexis bunks, all of which were very tidy – children are keen to win the tidiness competition. A comfy common room and a kitchen for making snacks, complete with seating and TV – although the catering here is excellent.

Pupils are allowed mobile phones for half an hour in the evening to call parents, and a little more time at the weekend, but phones spend most of the time locked away, and pupils do other things.

The last word

St Andrew’s is about having a ‘wonderful childhood… [they] learn, play and make great friends… [are] not stressed out,’ said a parent. Another described the ethos as being about positivity and kindness, and happy smiling children seem to fill this school.

Special Education Needs